MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
012403 Bedford Central losing touch with fiscal responsibility, reality
To the Editor:
I feel compelled to write you concerning a letter in a recent issue (Jan. 10) from Bedford Central Board of Education trustee Joseph Whelan. I am one of the taxpayers he refers to - one with no children in school, yet is deeply impacted by the soaring school tax burden.
A recent issue of Westchester magazine states that per-student spending at Fox Lane High School (my alma mater) exceeds $18,000. This ranks Fox Lane near the very top of all high schools in
Westchester, on par with such schools as Horace Greeley, Bronxville, Scarsdale, Edgemont, et al. Yet student performance at Fox Lane High lags dramatically, even though average class size is significantly smaller than those of other schools.
I realize there can be several reasons for this, but when Mr. Whelan points out spending on such things as trips to Costa Rica, frivolous lawsuits, inflated salaries, and even healthcare benefits for "domestic partners," I am outraged.
How did we reach this point? Education is tremendously important, but so is a semblance of fiscal responsibility and reality. These are all taxpayers' dollars - not just parents'. Residents can only be expected to reasonably bear so much until they act - by voting more prudent school boards (those that respect the taxpayers) or by moving to areas that do treat the resident as they should be.
Peter Gray Pound Ridge